Russia May Legalize Online Casinos Due to a Budget Shortfall
The Russian Ministry of Finance is considering legalizing online casinos to boost the state budget. The ministry is exploring the option of regulating this gambling industry in a manner similar to that of sportsbooks.
“Many countries also have a practice of legalizing [online casinos], that is, regulating this activity. Just as we regulate bookmakers, we are currently exploring all these options,” said Chebeskov.
According to him, the Russian Ministry of Finance is analyzing international experience in regulating online casinos, as well as mechanisms for combating the illegal gambling industry.
Chebeskov emphasized that the authorities must continue to combat advertising of illegal gambling.
According to estimates by the Autonomous Non-Profit Organization “Center for Combating Gambling Addiction,” approximately 150,000 people in Russia suffer from a severe form of gambling addiction and have significant debts.
At the same time, approximately 9 million Russians—or more than 6% of the country’s population—regularly play at online casinos or place bets.
Currently, online casinos are banned in Russia. Since 2009, gambling has been permitted only in special gambling zones. These zones operate in the Altai and Primorsky Krai, the Kaliningrad Oblast, and Sochi.
According to AIRIS, in 2025, casinos in these zones contributed 2.6 billion rubles in taxes to the budget.
Potential budget revenues from the legalization of online casinos could be significantly higher. As The Moscow Times previously reported, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov proposed to Russian President Vladimir Putin that online casinos be legalized to increase state budget revenues.
According to Siluanov’s estimates, such a move could bring in up to 100 billion rubles annually to the Russian treasury.
Thus, against the backdrop of budgetary challenges, Russian authorities are considering the legalization of online casinos as a potential source of additional revenue. At the same time, the spread of gambling carries risks of gambling addiction and mounting debt among the population.
This was stated by Ivan Chebeskov, Deputy Minister of Finance of the Russian Federation.
As a reminder, Anatoly Artamonov, chairman of the Budget Committee of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation, called for a review of the network of medical facilities in the regions and its “optimization.” In particular, he proposed redirecting patients to larger clinics to save budget funds.
Russian Z-propagandist Maxim Kalashnikov stated that the continuation of the war could lead to serious problems for Russia as early as 2027. According to him, the Russian economy could begin to collapse if hostilities continue.
Earlier, the St. Petersburg authorities proposed a significant revision of the city’s 2026 budget expenditures. The draft amendments were sent for expert review. According to the document, the budget’s expenditure side could be cut by 70.2 billion rubles—down to 1.58 trillion rubles.
As a reminder, in Russia—an aggressor state—President Vladimir Putin signed a decree setting the authorized strength of the armed forces at 2,441,630 personnel.
Russia, as an aggressor state, plans to allocate 17.1 trillion rubles to defense in 2027. This is approximately 27% more than the initially planned 13.5 trillion rubles and represents the highest figure since the start of Russia’s war against Ukraine in 2022.
